Mesothelioma and Asbestos Exposure in North Dakota

North Dakota had the lowest rate of asbestos disease of any state between 1980 and 2000. The factors here were due to a low population and the fact that the vast majority of the state's economic activity is related to agriculture. There are however a number of power generation facilities as well as an oil refinery operated by BP Amoco. Oil refineries and power plants are among the most hazardous in terms of asbestos exposure. In addition, a large amount of asbestos-containing products from the W.R. Grace mines in Montana were processed in North Dakota.

Power Plants and Asbestos in North Dakota

Three North Dakota jobsites that have been identified as having asbestos issues are:

Coyote Station

Stanton Powerhouse

United Power

Asbestos insulation was used throughout the construction of these in order to manage fire and electrical hazards. Such insulation was used for:

boilers

turbines

generators

gaskets (used for sealing valves, pumps and pipe fittings)

Part of plant maintenance workers' jobs involved cutting, trimming and filing this gasket material for the several miles of pipes and conduits that were found in most of these facilities.

According to Center for Health Statistics, 3% of all work-related fatalities at power generation plants are due to mesothelioma. This has been confirmed by a Puerto Rican study, in which 13% of such employees were found to have “abnormalities” in their chest x-rays that were indicative of asbestos disease.

The BP-Amoco Operation

Asbestos has been used in the construction of oil refineries since the mid-nineteenth century, as the process of turning crude oil into usable fuel involved both fire and chemical hazards. A medical study in the U.K. followed 45,000 oil refinery and petroleum distribution workers over the course of several years; the results showed that refinery workers suffered “significantly elevated” rates of mesothelioma and other cancers, even among those who had worked there for no more than twelve months.

Vermiculite Contaminated with Asbestos

Vermiculite ore from Libby, Montana was processed in Stanton, Minot and Center, where 300 shipments totaling nearly 26,000 tons passed through between 1948 and 1993. Vermiculite itself is a relatively harmless form of clay, but is usually contaminated with tremolite, a deadly form of amphibole asbestos. As fibers were released into the air, they exposed not only people who worked at the plants, but anyone in the vicinity as well.

Mesothelioma Statistics in North Dakota

Among the nearly 100 victims of asbestos disease during the years leading up to 2000, mesothelioma victims outnumbered those with asbestosis by two-to-one. Although mesothelioma is quite rare compared to asbestosis, it is virtually always fatal, whereas asbestosis can usually be managed for many years if diagnosed early on and the patient receives proper treatment.

Asbestos Exposure in North Dakota Cities

Provided below is a list of cities in the state of North Dakota where asbestos jobsites are known to have been located. If you worked at any of these companies and/or jobsites in North Dakota, there is a possibility that you may have been exposed to harmful asbestos which is known to cause mesothelioma. Click on any link to view a complete list of jobsites in that city.

Asbestos Exposure at North Dakota Jobsites

Any tradesmen who worked at one of the North Dakota Jobsites listed below could have been exposed to high levels of asbestos. Asbestos exposure at any one of these Jobsites could put them at risk for developing one of the following asbestos related diseases: malignant mesothelioma (a terminal cancer), asbestos related lung cancer or asbestosis.

Beulah

Ang Coal Gasification Company

Basin Electric Power Cooperative

Coyote Power Station

Hughes Electric Company

Montana Dakota Utilities

Otter Tail Power Company

Wellsboro Electric Company

Bismarck

Basic Electric Power Corp

Cowan Building

Garrison Dam

Lignite Combustion Engineering Company

Montana-Dakota Utilities

Bismark

Basin Electric Power Cooperative

Bismarck Civil Center

Hughes Electric Company

Lignite Combustion Engineering Company

North Dakota State Peniteniary

Center

Center Power Plant

Milton R. Young Station

Minnkota Power Cooperative, Inc.

Square Butte Electric Company

Emerado

Grand Forks Air Force Base

Macarthur Warehouse Building

Fargo

A H Bennett Company

Building Sprinkler Company, Inc.

Dakota Clinic

Dakota Hospital

Fargo Foundry & Steel Manufacturing

F-M Insulation

Larimore Stock

Leeby Victor H Company

Memorial Union North Dakota State University

North Dakota Agricultural College

North Dakota State University

Northern States Power Company

Pillsbury Company

St. Johns Hospital

Twining School

Walster North Dakota State University

West Acres

Jamestown

Boiler Plant State Hospital

Crippled Childrens Hospital

Jamestown Plumbing, Heating, & A/C, Inc.

Jamestown State Hospital

North Dakota State Hospital

Northern Pacific Railway Company

State Hospital

State Hospital For Insane

Kincaid

Minnesoto Northern Power Company

Montana Dakota Power Company

Montana Dakota Utility Company

Truax Traer Coal Company

Langdon

Abm Missile Radar Sites

Langdon Missile Sites

Minuteman Missile Site

Par Missile Sites

Safeguard Facilities

Mandan

American Oil Refinery

Amoco Chemical Company

Amoco Oil Company Refinery

BP Amoco North Dakota

Heskett Station

Mandan Oil

Mandan Powerhouse

Montana-Dakota Utilities Company

No Pacific Railway Plant

North Dakota State Industrial School

Sornsin Company

Standard Oil Company

State Industrial School

Minot

Burlington Northern Railroad-Shops

Consumers Power Company

Great Northern Railroad

Greenberg Roofing & Sheet Metal Company

M&L Industrial Inc.

Minot Air Force Base

Minot Light and Telephone Company

Minot Radar Station

Minuteman Missile Site

Northern States Power Company

Strategic Air Command Air Base

Stanton

Basin Electric Power Cooperative

Leland Olds Generating Station

North Dakota 45 Basin

Stanton Power Plant

United Power Association

Tatman

Minot Air Force Base

Filing an Asbestos Claim in North Dakota

Don’t lose your right to file a claim. If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma and were exposed to asbestos in North Dakota, you may be entitled to compensation. If you have a pathology report in hand to support the mesothelioma diagnosis, you should be eligible for financial assistance.

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